Zachary Pope, Ph.D. student and graduate assistant in the School of Kinesiology, was awarded a 2017 Research Council Graduate Student Research Award by SHAPE America for his project, “Validity of Smartwatches in Assessing Energy Expenditure and Heart Rate.” Pope is advised by Zan Gao, Ph.D., associate professor of physical activity and health in Kinesiology.

The Graduate Student Research Award is given to an outstanding author and presenter of a research program for the SHAPE America national convention. The award is intended to recognize and encourage graduate student scholarship.  Pope also was awarded a SHAPE America Graduate Student Grant in 2015 for his research project, “Promoting Physical Activity through Smartphone Apps in Overweight/Obese College Students.”